Launchbury, who broke into the England side in last year's autumn Tests and was voted Man of the Series, said New Zealand "are playing some great rugby with some great players".

But he added: "We have trained hard over the past couple of weeks and won two close games, and we will have to play for 80 minutes to get a result.

England's autumn series

2 Nov: England 20-13 Australia

9 Nov: England 31-12 Argentina

16 Nov: England v New Zealand (14:30)

"We've got a massive amount of respect for what the New Zealand side stands for. I grew up watching them play and they're the benchmark of where you want to get to.

"They are rightly the number side in the world and show that every time they step out on the pitch, but while we are respectful of that, at the same time we are sure in what we do as a team and the direction we are heading."

Fly-half Owen Farrell paid tribute to opposite number Dan Carter, who will become the fifth All Black to win 100th caps if he is selected on Saturday.

Carter has notched a world record 1,433 points in his previous 99 matches during a 10-year international career.

"He's unbelievable, one of the best, if not the best in the world for a long, long time," said Farrell. "It is something special to be there for that length of time.

"In everything he does you can see how much experience he's got.

"It will certainly be a good occasion for him to play his 100th cap in a brilliant stadium like Twickenham."